Page 9 of What He Never Knew

I just didn’t know how to do that, not now that that trust had been obliterated by the last man to have it.

“It was very nice to meet you,” Reese said after a moment, a small crease between his brows as he watched me. “If you’ll excuse me, I should get ready for my next set,” he said, nodding toward the piano.

“Oh, of course, we didn’t want to hold you up too long. We’re really enjoying watching you play. My niece here,” Uncle Randall said, chuckling a little as he leaned in closer to Reese. “She wascrying, she was so moved by the first—”

I cleared my throat, neck so hot I could fry an egg on it as I grabbed my uncle’s arm. “You heard him, Uncle Randall, he needs to get back to playing. Let’s go to our table.”

Reese smirked, his eyes watching me in that same curious way they had the first time he’d locked them on me from across the room.

And again, I wanted to shrink away.

“Thank you for the compliment,” he said simply, and I fought against the urge to groan out loud in embarrassment. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow, Mr. Henderson,” he said to my uncle first, and then he glanced at me once more. “And you, Tuesday evening, I believe?”

“Mm-hmm,” I managed.

Reese smiled again. “Have a good evening, Miss Henderson. Welcome to Pittsburgh.”

And with one last nod to my uncle, the ghost weaved his way through the shadows and back to his home.

Reese

Two years.

It had been almost two years to the day since Charlie Pierce showed up at my house and told me she was staying with her husband, that our love couldn’t be, that Cameron was her choice, and I was not.

Two years, and I still ached every time I thought of her.

Two years, and I still dreaded the fact that she was back to school today after having been gone the entire semester for maternity leave.

Two years, and I still wanted to run to her and pull her into my arms and beg her to be mine.

I was pathetic.

That was a fact I couldn’t escape, and somewhere along the line I think I’d decided to embrace it. After three months had passed, and I was still a mess, I thought she would just be a little harder to get over than I imagined. After six months, I fell into despair. After the first year, I imagined I had to be getting close to a breakthrough.

But it had been two years. And at this point, I’d come to the conclusion that this was just how my life would be now.

I would always ache for the woman I could never have.

The school year was winding down, only a month left before classes would end and summer break would set me free from these walls for a few months. Spring was everywhere — in the green leaves growing on the trees, in the flowers blooming, the sun shining, the temperature rising. Everyone at Westchester was alive with the promise of warm weather and free time ahead, but I still felt like I was stuck in the middle of a grueling winter.

I’d managed to avoid Charlie all day, though I’d caught a glimpse of her in the hallway after lunch. I’d veered right then, going down a wing I didn’t need to be in for any reason other than tonotbe in the same wing she was in. I thought I’d escape at least one day of her being here without having to interact, but of course, the universe couldn’t give me that break.

“Reese!”

I heard her voice call from behind me as I made it to the metal doors that led to the teachers’ parking lot. My hand hit the bar that released the lock, and I shoved it open, hoping I could fake that I didn’t hear her.

“Reese, wait up!”

I groaned, pausing where my hand still held the door and forcing a slow breath before turning.

Charlie was the only one in the hallway, and she walked toward me with a little hop in her step, her long, curled brown hair bouncing. Her smile was wide, cheeks pink, eyes shining like I was the person she’d been waiting to see all day. She didn’t hesitate when she made it to where I stood, but threw her slight arms around me.

I had no choice but to catch her, and I knew I always would.

“I’ve been looking for you all day,” she said, pulling back with that same smile. “Where have you been hiding?”

This was what I hated about Charlie — she still cared about me. If our situation was under someone’s microscope, they’d likely hate her because they thought the exact opposite. How could she talk to me the way she did, still want me around her, her family, if she really cared about me? Wouldn’t she give me time to heal, wouldn’t she leave me be?